Interview with Founders of Okko: Leigha Field and Phoebe Kunitomi

Two graduate students at UPenn came together over Shake Shack and beers to ultimately create a line of invisible undergarments for women of all sizes. Leigha Field and Phoebe Kunitomi are the Founders of Okko.

From Leigha and Phoebe’s research, they found that many of the invisible undergarments that they found in the market were too expensive, attached with weak glue, came apart, and sometimes were still visible. So, they created Okko.

Leigha and Phoebe are on a mission to solve the problem of finding the right underwear to wear with different types of attire. Have you ever wanted to wear that beautiful white dress, only to have your panty line visibly digging into your skin? With Okko, you’ll have those comfortable baseline items that work with anything in your wardrobe.

We had the opportunity to interview the Leigha and Phoebe and they gave us insight into their journey in starting Okko, running their first event called #IGotMeDay, and their plans for the future of their business.

 

 

How did you know you would work well together as cofounders?

Phoebe: We were best friends way before Okko was even on the radar. We met on the first day of orientation at Wharton — actually over a late-night burger at Shake Shack! We quickly hit it off not only because we have similar senses of humor but also wanted to take risks in our next career step. So, when I had the idea to start an invisible underwear company a couple of months later, it was a no brainer to approach Leigha first.

Leigha: Our experiences definitely complement one another. My background is in tech investing, and Phoebe held operational roles at startups. Together, we think we bring the right set of skills to get a company off the ground, while at the same time can bring our unique perspectives to tackle issues. Also, being friends first has worked to our advantage. We aren’t afraid to be direct with one another yet also know how to have a good time!

 

Who are some brands or designers that you admire?

As a company, we are “fangirls” of a few brands, particularly newer entrants that deliver a great product and are looking to connect with customers in authentic, innovative ways.

Baboon, a DTC travel bag startup, is unparalleled in how cohesive it communicates its bold brand across every single customer touchpoint, from social to email to packaging. They produce such unique graphics that never fail to catch our eye. Also, Trey Sisson, one of Baboon’s co-founders, has been a great advisor to Okko.

We also love Reformation for the authentic way in which it incorporates both sustainability and inclusivity into the brand without sacrificing on their “cool factor” or aesthetic; Binto, personalized supplement packs for women, not only because we love their branding but also because of their integrated approach to women’s health and their boss founder Suzie Welsh; and Lower East Side NYC-based design Sandy Liang for her totally unique style, her unparalleled understanding of her customer’s aesthetic, and awesome non-commercial social media personality.

 

Okko has many fans! How have they been finding you?

You flatter us too much! Most of the credit should go to all of our friends and family who have really helped us get the Okko name out there. In fact, since launching our website late last year, we have not yet invested a dime in digital marketing.

Beyond word of mouth, we think that we’re building a strong community of #knockout women who believe in our brand and product. So far, we’ve connected with these women through anything from in-person events to dialogues on Reddit. It’s been encouraging (and surprising) to hear how many women are relieved to find undergarments that feel great and work with whatever they’re wearing. It means we’re doing our jobs right.

 

You mentioned interviewing over 100 women about their current underwear. What are some things that shocked you and how did you fix it?

One of the first things we did as a company was to figure out what women actually saw as their underwear pain points. Thankfully, we spoke with women representing the full spectrum of sizes, ages, ethnicities, geographies, and professional backgrounds, so we could paint an unbiased, complete picture.

From these conversations, three main themes surfaced: reliability, fit, and brand authenticity.

On the first point, many women talked about how they had maybe 1-3 pairs of their fave undies, which they saved for special occasions but did not have enough of for daily wear. This frustration comes from current brands treating underwear like seasonal fashion items. They overproduce pieces that are trendy at the time to generate a short-term spike in sales, but don’t offer enough of styles/colors that women actually want to wear throughout the year.

Our interviewees also consistently griped about fit. Brands either didn’t design their undergarments with women’s diverse body types in mind or didn’t even offer their size at all. This issue is axiomatic across all types of women’s wear companies, which is why we’ve recently seen a significant push to be more inclusive across the size spectrum.

Finally, we found that women want to buy into brands with a message that resonates with them. Until fairly recently, the lingerie space was defined by a singular view of hypersexuality: the size 0, no-cellulite model. Newer brands have responded by going on the extreme opposite end of the spectrum, which is like a “screw-the-man” form of femininity. Both perspectives are totally fine, but we feel like there needs to be a space for all the women in the middle.

At Okko, we’re trying to address all of these points. Our products won’t change from season to season, so women can reliably, and affordably, find their favorites. During the design process, we used real women across the size spectrum to be our fit models to ensure that our products actually worked with diverse body types. We’re building a brand catered to that empowered woman who is career-driven but also cares about her looks.

 

How would you describe the quality of Okko?

The absolute best (just kidding, sort of)! In all seriousness, quality is our number one priority. We always want our undergarments to look and feel great, no matter what.

 

How do you want women to feel while wearing Okko?

Incredible and absolutely flawless, because they are.

 

Do you plan on expanding your line?

100%. Our long-term vision is for Okko to be the one place where women can find all their invisible undergarments. We’ve started with our Signature Seamless Bra/Underwear and Reusable Nipple Covers because we believe these products had the most room for improvement. Over time, we plan on engaging our #knockouts to determine what categories we should go into next!

 

Do you want to base Okko out of Philly after graduating UPenn?

100%!!! We don’t want to be another company born out of Wharton that moves elsewhere post-graduation. Our plan is to stick around and give back to the community that helped us get started.

 

You recently threw your first event celebrating self-love. How did you feel it went?

#IGotMeDay was the first event we hosted solo. We were super happy with the outcome and had a great turnout despite all-day freezing rain. Danielle Massi and Suzie Pinto knew how to engage the audience by providing practical, relevant advice on relationship building and women’s health, respectively. We also had incredible sponsors who helped us offer gift baskets, food, and drinks that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to get. Of course, we found things that we’d like to improve for the next event, like allocating more time to set up, but that’s just our self-critical, perfectionist natures.